The brown-haired woman chattered animatedly to her relatives. “An’ so I said t’ him, ‘Eh, if ya t’ink I’m paying that much for somethin’ m’ kid coulda slapped t’gether when she was two, ya gotta outta ya freakin’ mind!’” She threw her head back and laughed boisterously.

Charise laughed, too, and responded, “Lissie, you’re a trip.”

“Told you so,” S spoke up.

“So, where’s m’ other sister-in-law?” Lissie asked. “Thought ya said she was comin’ by t’day.”

“She should be here soon,” Charise replied. “She called and said she and her lawyer were going over the paperwork again.”

At this, Lissie frowned. “Shouldn’t give Maddy one red cent,” she grumbled. “She’s th’ one who shoulda been kicked outta the fam’ly, not me.” She eyed S. “This Jessica, she a good one?”

“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” S replied.

Just then, there was a loud knock at the door. “That’s probably her,” Charise said, rising to her feet. “I’ll get it.” She raced over to the door and flung it open. Seeing Valo and Sara, she told them to enter the house, then directed them to the kitchen, where S and Lissie were talking.


As Valo stepped into the kitchen, Lissie quietly looked her over, a serious expression on her face. Then, with a broad grin, she raced over to Valo and embraced her tightly. “So, you’re th’ one Grant married!” she exclaimed. “I couldn’ta made a better choice m’self. I’m Lissie, an’ I’m real glad t’ meetcha after hearin’ so much aboutcha. We woulda met sooner, but m’ husband, he’s in the military, an’ we’ve been overseas the past few years. You’re that lady who’s been in those things, talkin’ ‘bout women bein’ treated as equals. Glad t’ hear someone still cares ‘bout that kinda thing.”

“It’s good to meet you, too,” Valo replied, a little surprised by such a warm greeting. “Please, call me Valo; most of my friends do. And this is Sara Lowry, my lawyer.”

“Lawyer, huh?” Lissie replied. She offered her hand to Sara, who shook it. “Good to see women in that kinda field. ‘f I had good grades, maybe I’da gone that route, too, but I wouldn’t trade m’ fam’ly f’ anythin’.” She paused, then added, “Speakin’ a’ fam’ly, don’tcha pay no mind to Maddy, hon. She ain’t been nothin’ but trouble since she was a kid. Don’t plan on givin’ her th’ money, do ya?”

“That’s kind of the good and bad part,” Sara spoke up, placing an envelope on the counter nearby and tapping it with her finger. “Legally, she has a right to her share of the money. However, the money made from the album sales and all, they all go to her granddaughter.”

“That’s smart,” Lissie murmured admiringly. “S, Charise, when your kid grows up, you make sure and send ‘er to a good college. I wanna see my niece do good for herself.”

“Don’t worry, we plan on it,” S replied.

Just then, there was another knock at the door. “That’s probably Madeline,” S muttered. “I’ll show her in.”

“Take your time,” Valo replied.

S sighed and walked over to the door, where a triumphant-looking Madeline stood. She pushed past S and strolled into the kitchen. When she saw Lissie, she frowned.


“What are you doing here?” Madeline asked crossly.

“It’s m’ family, too,” Lissie replied nonchalantly. “Th’ d’cisions affect me, too.”

“Whatever,” Madeline muttered, rolling her eyes and turning away from her older sister. “So, you gonna give me the dough or not?”

Valo smiled a little and replied, “Madeline, you only read the part of the will that affected you, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Madeline responded, looking impatient. “Why would I care what everyone else gets?”

“You should have read the whole thing,” Sara spoke up. “Even if you get some money, you’ll be getting little more than a drop in the bucket.”

“What do you mean?”

“All money from record sales and royalties and whatnot will go to Charise and any kids she has. And all money made from the last album, which had sales through the roof, are to go to any of Charise’s kids.”

“Seriously?” Madeline cried out incredulously.

“Yep.”

“Seriously?!”

“Very much so. Charise and S will be able to send Artemis to any college of her choice… the last album went platinum the first two days it was out.”


“Th-that’s not fair!” Madeline whined.

“Life ain’t fair, kiddo,” Lissie replied. “Now, go an’ be happy with th’ money ya got, an’ leave these nice people alone.”

Sara slid the envelope toward Madeline, who riffled through it, then glared up at the others. “Five hundred dollars?” Madeline complained.

“The will didn’t say how evenly the money should be divided,” Sara said, smiling slightly. “If law school taught me anything, it’s to look for any loopholes possible.”

“What the **** am I supposed to do with five hundred measly dollars?”

“Go to rehab. Get a decent wardrobe and get a good job,” S replied. “Don’t bother me and my family again, Madeline.”

“I’m your sister. We’re family!”

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re no more than a stranger. Now, get out.”

“Y-you’ll be sorry!” Madeline threatened, glaring at her younger brother. “I mean it.”

“You try to hurt any one of us, and I’ll have the cops on you quicker than you can say ‘jail time.’”

Lissie put a hand on Madeline’s arm to guide her out, but Madeline yanked her arm free. “I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Madeline snapped, storming out.

The group watched Madeline’s loud and angry exit, then chuckled when S held up the envelope.

“She left her money behind,” S remarked. “I guess she’s refused her share of the money.”